Desert Madness
by Esquimaux
Summary: What happens on the hiking trip Karen and friends invite Mark on? Do things take a turn for the worst? Post-Transall Saga.
1. Chapter 1

Desert Madness

- What would have happened if Karen had invited Mark on the hiking trip? Post-Transall Saga.

The Transall Saga is probably one of my favorite books of all time, and I've read if a few times, but can't get over how Gary Paulsen just ended the book after mentioning Mark's co-workers' hiking trip. Ahhh!!! So here I am, with my version of what I think happens. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transall Saga, no matter how much I'd like to.

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(The following is a direct quote from the last page of the Transall Saga.)

"Some friends and I are planning a hike in the desert this weekend through the Magruder Missile Rage. Maybe I'll invite him to come along." (Karen said.)

"The doc?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"He's such a bookworm. I doubt he'd last a day out there in the wild."

"I don't know. I think he might surprise you. There's something about him. Have you noticed? It's a look he gets sometimes, almost like he's…"

"What?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it. But it's like he's… almost savage."

"Ha! The doc is as tame as they come. And if you decide to invite him to go, you guys better take it real easy on him."

"He'll be fine." Karen laughed. "It's just a hike in the desert. What could happen?"

(End quote.)

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Mark looked at his small bag he'd packed. It was no larger than a kindergartener's backpack. All he had packed was an extra pair of pants, a pocketknife, a hunting knife, matches, some granola bars, a map, and a compass. _I packed a bit heavy, _he thought.

Doctor Mark Harrison slipped on his shoes, slung his pack over one shoulder, and then walked outside to his blue Yaris. He drove to Wal-Mart where he planned on meeting the hiking group. It was about 5.30 in the morning, so the roads were clear. When he got there he parked beside Karen's SUV.

"Hey guys."

"Hi doc. Good to see you showed up. This is James," she pointed to a long-haired man in the passenger seat who looked like he was a professional hiker; he looked about thirty years old but in excellent shape, "He's in the same hiking club with me. He is pretty serious about the whole thing. We're probably going to be running to keep up with him."

I had to smile at that.

"Hi James. Nice to meet you." He said.

I nodded to him then looked back at Karen.

"This is Sophia. She's probably about the same level as me. Right Soph?"

"Yeah. It's cool to meet some of Karen's other friends. Most of the ones she brings hiking we never see again, though." Sophia laughed. She appeared to be in her late twenties and seemed to be partly Asian. She had her long hair in a pony-tail and was dressed in expensive hiking gear.

"Don't worry about me. As long as you guys don't leave me behind, I'll be back." I joked.

Karen turned to Sophia and James, "Mark -I don't think- has done much hiking, so we'll take this long weekend slow."

"Oh, don't change anything because of me. I can keep up."

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After introductions, Mark grabbed his bag out of his car and hopped into the back seat of Karen's with Sophia.

"Where's you other gear?" she asked him.

"What other gear? This is everything."

Sophia raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. "Really? You sure? Because it looks like you hardly have enough to last an afternoon. Just that bag and the clothes on your back."

"This is everything I need. It's not like I'm going to pack my kitchen sink." He said, and looked in the back at the others' supplies. _And I thought _I_ over packed?_

The back of the SUV was full of miniature tents and huge hiking bags. It looked like enough for a small army.

"What did you _bring_? Wow. That is a lot of supplies."

James, who had been listening in with disbelief at Mark, said, "Are you crazy? We _only_ packed the necessities. Clothes,"

Mark rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. Karen, let's go. We need to be on our way to the Range. We're already behind schedule."

"Okay, boss. If you say so. But don't blame me when you start getting hungry."

Karen started the car and began the hour-long drive to the edge of the desert Missile Range.

Mark eventually got the others to be quiet about the amount of things he packed. They spent the ride listening to the Beatles and talking about different hiking trips. Next Thursday they planned to go up a nearby mountain as a day-trip and invited Mark to come along.

The highway eventually got busier, but around seven o'clock, before traffic could get worse, Karen took the exit to the parking lot of the Magruder Missile Range. Karen, Sophie, and James strapped on their huge backpacks while Mark just checked to make sure his knives were sharp.

"Are you sure, doc? You'll be okay with that stuff?" Karen asked one more time.

"Yes, I'll be okay. It's your backs that I'm worried about. With all that weight they'll be sore for sure." He smiled then walked off the concrete and onto the dirt of the desert.

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Yay! First chapter is up! I promise it will become more exciting next chapter. Please R&R. Let me know what you think!

~Maux


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter 2! I guess you have to 've read The Transall Saga to understand this, so I'm not expecting a huge response, but just want to have this uploaded if there is anybody who's interested… I also might come back in a couple years and read this, just to satisfy my curiosity.

Disclaimer: Don't own anybody or anything except for Sophia and James.

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The desert hadn't changed much in the past twenty years. But it felt like a lot more than twenty years to Mark, who hadn't been back since that fateful day when he was thirteen.

When the group had stopped for lunch, Mark decided to have a granola bar. _Better not start the trip by grossing them out with a dead animal, _he thought to himself. The others seemed slightly worn out from the hike and were taking advantage of the break. Mark, on the other hand, finished his bar and explored the cliff they stopped by. When he was out of sight, James turned to Karen.

"Is he really going to be okay without a sleeping bag or anything? I can lend him food, but what about things like a fresh pair of socks?"

"You know, I think he can handle himself. He's not stupid- how else could he be a highly respected doctor? I can tell he knows what he's doing." She replied.

"Okay. But seriously, he only has four granola bars and a bottle of water from his car. "

"He'll find a way to feed himself. If not, we have the emergence food we can give him."

James fell silent. Mark returned within a few minutes. He sat down on a nearby rock and rubbed his neck. The group decided it was time to continue. When Mark was younger, he didn't rush himself. Now, they only had three days to do what he was planning to in a week. He was older, so it evened out, but he couldn't do as much exploring of the land.

They stopped at a familiar canyon. It was the one Mark stayed in before, but about a kilometer south. The four of them dropped their bags while the sun was still up and set out the beds. Mark found a few patches of tall grass and ripped out handfuls. He laid it out as a bed near the others' beds then grabbed his backpack. He put it at one end to eventually use as a pillow, but picked it back up and pulled out a hunting knife.

"Guys, I'm going to go get some dinner. I'll be back soon half an hour at the most." He smiled at their confused faces then nodded when Sophia mumbled an acknowledgment. He brought the bag with him and went hunting.

The doctor found himself a squirrel. He started heading back to camp, and just as he was about to turn the corner to it, he stopped and watch with a surpized face as a bright beam of blue light appeared infront of him.

_This isn't supposed to happen again. The chances are enormous. _Mark ran around the light to the camp just in time to see several things happen at once. Karen just tripped and fell into the campfire, guaranteed to be burnt badly. The others, who were staring transfixed at the light, turned when they heard her cry of pain. Then, the whole scene turned blue as the light moved onto us. _Home_ was all Mark thought as his world turned around.

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(A/N: you thought I was gonna stop it there, didn't you? Well, it would have been a great place to stop, but this is under six hundred words… soo…. I'll write more…)

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James, Sophia, and Karen groaned with the headache they were given. Mark had quickly recovered but his head was still throbbing. As soon as Karen sat up, she looked at her hands and arms, expecting to see markings of her recent -or very, very _not_ recent- accident. Nothing was there. Her eyebrows shot up and she put a huge, confused smile on her face.

James and Sophia also sat up and looked right at her, then at me. Sophia was the first to notice the red plants and grasses. The desert was gone, replaced by what appeared to be a jungle. She gasped and closed her eyes, thinking this was just a dream.

"You're not imagining it. You're really here. Any the light fixed your burns, just like it fixed my snake bite the first time I came here." I quietly explained. "I spent years here when I was a teenager. This is my real home."

"What are you talking about? Where are we? There's nowhere on Earth like this, is there?" James said.

"When I was thirteen, I went on a hike through the Missile Range. The same beam of light appeared infront of me. As I watched it, a snake came up and bit me. I jumped up; I lost my balance and fell into it. I woke up about a kilometer from here."

"How did you get back?"

"Well, I didn't return for many years, but when I did, it was because the light appeared for me again. I never thought I would return."

James, Karen, and Sophia seemed to have calmed down, but still looked uneasy. Luckily they were quick to accept him as their guide. Mark looked behind them and saw that the only bag the light had brought was his own, probably because it was still on his back from the hunting trip. His headache was getting more bearable, and he could think clearer. He thought of the dark forest. It was only a few kilometers from here if he remembered correctly.

Mark stood up. "We should get a place to spend the night. I know a safe spot not far from here, but it's a bit of a walk. Three kilometers of thick bushes. "_Let's hope it hasn't been too long since I was here last. I wonder if Willie is still alive._

The hikers followed Mark around quicksand and thorn bushes. When they passed through grassy clearings, the yellow sky was visible. They stopped a couple times to have some water and Mark broke one of the granola bars into quarters so everybody could have a bite.

Slowly, the forest began to change. The trees got taller with no low hanging branches but lots of vines and smooth trunks. The familiar sounds rushed onto Mark as he stepped through the trees. He could hear the monkey-bears in the distance. The red coloured leaves blocked out the sunlight like a roof, making it hard to see where they could step.

"This way. Just a couple more minutes. Step only where I do. Keep quick. Oh, and does everybody know how to climb a tree or rope?"

"Rope _and_ trees. Why do you ask?" James said.

"Because we're going to be sleeping in trees tonight." Mark turned and carried on.

"Oh. Why didn't I think of that?" James mumbled to himself and followed, shaking his head disbelievingly.

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Well, the hike took a bit of a turn, didn't it? I know the chances say that this would never happen to Mark again, but it was necessary to the story :)

Let me know what you think

~Maux


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three…..

I think I'm gonna dedicate this chapter to Knock Out, who I "voluntold" to watch I Am Legend with me. I don't do well with horror movies, so I needed someone to watch it with me :P

Disclaimer: Don't own anyone you recognize :)

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The monkey-bears quieted when the hikers walked past. Lizards would run by every few minutes and Mark made a mental note that he would catch a few for dinner. He started looking at the trees to find some wide branches close together for the four of them. Once he found one, he stopped and turned at the worn-out hikers behind him. _It was a good think I kept in shape throughout the years. I thought that James would at least be able to keep up._

"Take a rest. It looks like it's going to be getting dark soon, so I'll find something for us to eat." He was going to ask if anyone wanted to come, but held his tongue when the three practically collapsed at his feet. "Stay by this tree. I won't go far."

Mark managed to grab three lizards and a rat-like animal. He got back to the others and started a fire to roast the meal on. He told James to watch it, then started to climb the nearest tree in search of some tree-rocks. The monkey bears hadn't been bothering to throw many down, so maybe they recognized him. _For all I know, it might have only been yesterday that I left here._

Everything Mark has learned during his time in the trees came rushing back to him.

He swung through the trees to where he spotted a huge group of tree-rocks and climbed to the end of a branch. He picked them, dropped about twenty, then propelled back down to the ground. All his pickings landed a ways from the fire, so he had to make a few trips picking them up and putting them in a pile.

When he got back the last time with a handful of them, James was attempting to open them by peeling the skins off.

"Here, let me do it." Mark found the rock's soft spot and stabbed it with his hunting knife. It split open and he gave it to James, then did the same for Karen and Sophia.

By the time they were done all twenty rocks, the lizards and rat were cooked, so they started on those.

"How do you know all of this stuff? I mean, those coconut things were amazing!" Sophia asked.

"Like I said, I spent some time here when I was a kid. I was in much better shape back then, because let me tell you, climbing a tree is tough. As for the tree-rocks, well, I had some help with those."

"Who-" Soph's eyes shot up and she over my shoulder. "_What is _that?"

I turned and saw a little white furry animal with a tail and long arms. It was a monkey-bear.

"Willie? Is that you, bud?" The monkey-bear tilted its head to the side. Mark held out his arm and it ran forward and jumped up to his shoulder. He laughed with a mixture of surprise and excitement for the little animal. Mark patted his head, "Willie it's great to see you. How've you been?"

Willie had changed quite a lot since Mark last saw him. He seemed older, but still had the same air about him- bravery. Mark saw that he didn't move as quickly as he used to, and favored his left arm like it was sore.

"Sophia, this is Willie. He's the one who helped me when I first found this place. He's older now, but he protected me from being beaten up by his family." Mark laughed.

Sophia smiled. She held her hand out and Willie jumped off of Mark, straight to her. He snuggled into the crook of her neck and stayed there until Mark shifted ten minutes later. Willie moved back to Mark and stayed there until everybody headed to the trees for bed. Mark had to help them up, but eventually they settled into the only low branches available for their first night.

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Mark woke up with a smile on his face. For the first time in months he had dreamt of seeing Megaan again. He was the first one up officially, but James had fallen out of his perch once, Karen fell twice, and Sophia twice. Each time they woke him and everybody else up, which nobody was happy about.

Willie stayed the entire night, getting the best sleep out of all of them.

Mark collected some tree-rocks for breakfast. His arms felt weak from yesterday's workout, making it difficult for him to pull himself up the vines. He wasn't nearly as expert as he used to be, but definitely above average.

He got back and his fellow hikers were gathering on the ground. Willie jumped onto his shoulder after Mark put down his findings.

During breakfast he showed Karen, Sophia, and James the soft spot in the tree-rocks so they could open them by themselves. Unfortunately, the only knives available were the pocketknife and hunting knife Mark had with him in his backpack when they arrived.

Everybody but Mark seemed to be in a poor mood. Upset about being in a strange place, and depressed because they had no control over how to get home. Mark thought it would be a good time to let them know what would most likely happen.

"When I first came here, it was a miracle I got back. The chances of the light appearing again were enormous. I had to live here for years before it showed again. I didn't even think it would come. But I did find out where this place is."

"What do you mean? No planets in our solar system are like this, and we can't identify any of the other planets." Karen protested.

"We're still on Earth, believe it or not. But countless years in the future. Thousands of years. Disease spread. The same disease I work so hard to cure. It was the reason I became a scientist in the first place – so this wouldn't happen." Mark shook his head, "Following the plague was a nuclear war, caused by terrorists getting their hands on nuclear weapons from places like the US."

"How do you know this? Who told you?" James asked disbelievingly.

"There are villages and towns of the survivors. Much less than before, but still there. I lived in one for my last years here, but I didn't know about them until I went exploring. I found another man like me; like us who came here in the 1980's. An evil man. He was a ruler of one of the groups here. The Tsook. Just before I left, I wounded him. His son sent armies after me, but I disappeared before they caught me." Mark looked at James with such seriousness that James had no choice but to accept it.

"Speaking of that, I think we should start heading there. It should be about five days if we walk fast. It is our only hope unless you want to stay here for years."

The three nodded their heads but said nothing. "Okay. We'll leave this morning. Sophia, come with me to get tree rocks. James and Karen, you guys need to try to catch some small animals. Go for the lizards we had last night if you can. They move slowly. Meet back here in an hour. We'll try to be out of here as soon as that's done."

The pairs went to their tasks. When they regrouped, they had a couple days worth of food. Mark picked up his backpack, and filled it up with as much supplies as he could. In the end, they had to carry a few lizards and a couple tree rocks.

Willie stayed with them until the forest started thinning. He was clicking behind them but stopped. Mark looked back. "Willie, bud. You're not going abandon me again, are you?" Mark held out his arm, and after a bit of hesitation, Willie ran to him and up his arm. "I knew you would miss me. Nice you chose to come along this time." He smiled and rubbed Willie's head. The group continued on with the monkey-bear clicking the entire time.

By the end of the day, Mark decided to stop at the clearing where Leeta's village used to be. They set up some grass beds and a fire and cooked all of the lizards before they started smelling.

Mark made a quick trip to the creek but had trouble finding it because the path had overgrown. He filled up his water bottle and returned to the former village.

The sky was visible through the trees. By the time Mark got a good look at it, though, the sun had set. It was hot during the day and cooler by night. Not enough to need a blanket, so the group was content with what they had. Willie stayed faithfully on Mark shoulder the entire time and found a nice spot on an overhead branch above the campers when they stopped. Mark threw up two tree-rocks for him to have, which Willie threw right back when he finished eating the contents.

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What do ya think? Any suggestions? Please R&R

~Maux


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four, people! Getting excited yet?

Just sos you know… I'm trying to keep the writing style as close to the actual book as possible. Don't expect too much, though! It's tough!

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters you recognize. Only Sophia and James :)

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The group had been travelling for four days. When they ran out of tree rocks, Mark had to go hunting. Willie was a bit angry when he had to start eating foreign foods, but soon got over it.

Water was common. Creeks were every couple kilometers so they had breaks then. Mark could see his old town in the distance and was pushing his friends harder to get there. They travelled the most that day than any of the three days before.

By noon of day five, they were at the base of the mountain. Mark turned to them and said. "I'll meet you at the top!" He made sure Willie was on his shoulder, and then took off sprinting towards his old town up the mountain. Half-way up, he heard the welcoming horns blow. By the time he made it to the top, the gates were open. He stopped at the familiar guard and said in unused native Tsook, "My friends are coming up the mountain. Could you meet them and bring them to my farm?"

"Kakon? Is that really you? Where have you been? What is that on your shoulder?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell it later. Oh, and this is Willie." He paused before running off and turned to the guard again. "By the way, how long have I been away?"

"Well, I'd say about fifteen years now. Megaan is living in your old farm. She should be there now. I'll take care of your friends. Go see her. She has been waiting."

Mark ran off again with a wave. The village looked the same. The blacksmith, Tybor, had a bigger shop now. Mark yelled a greeting to him and Tybor dropped what he was doing. He almost fainted, but held himself together and yelled back before Mark was out of view.

The townspeople who knew Mark before all stopped and stared at him disbelievingly. They had thought that he was captured by the Mordo and his men. They also knew Mordo never returned home after the search. The whole thing had been forgotten within a couple years, but some people just couldn't forget.

When Mark reached the old house he called home, he stopped and thought. Willie shifted on his shoulder- he had been clinging onto Mark the entire run terrified. Anyways, it had been fifteen years since he was chased away by Mordo. Twenty had passed in his time, so Megaan was probably about five years younger than him now. _Had she really been waiting for me fifteen years?_

_  
_He raised his hand and knocked three times. When the door swung open, he saw the girl -now woman- that he had been thinking of every day for the past twenty years. She was wearing her hair down and her skin was the same light yellow it always had been. She had on her usual leather clothes with bare feet. Both of them were frozen. Megaan was first recover and tackled him in a hug. Willie jumped off to avoid being squished.

"Kakon! Where have you been? What happened? I was waiting for you! What took you so long to get back? Nobody knew what happened! Are you alright? Why didn't you come back? I've been so worried! You left on such short notice!"

"Megaan!"

"Yes?"

"It's nice to see you, too." Mark smiled and looked into her eyes. Everything was going to be alright now that he was with Megaan.

"Kakon? Is that you? Where have you been? Come, sit." It was Dagon. He was much older, Mark noticed, as he looked up from Megaan.

"Dagon. Nice to see you as well! I'll explain everything as soon as possible. I have some friends with me this time, though. I left them at the botton of the mountain. They were tired so they are coming up slowly. I ran ahead. The guard said he would bring them."

As Mark was talking, a younger version of Dagon came from the far room. He was tall and thin and walked with a purpose. But when he saw Mark, he stopped and dropped his jaw. "Kakon?"

"Is that little Barow?"

"No so little anymore, Kakon. Be careful, he is now strongest in the village." Megaan teased. By the looks of it, she was right. Barow was thin, but he was packed full of muscle.

"Lets sit down. We need some answers, Kakon." Dagon said.

The four of them sat around the fireplace. Megaan refused to let go of Mark's hand, which he was fine with. By the time he finished telling them of his plan to take them to the jungle, but not yet at the part where the light re-appeared, there was another knock at the door. Dagon got up and opened it to reveal some very scared-looking hikers. Willie, who had been sitting patiently beside Mark the entire time, jumped up onto Karen's shoulder.

Mark switched to English. "Good timing, guys. This is Dagon, Barow, and Megaan. I was just telling them what happened when i left here." Mark then went back to speak Tsook, much to the surprise of his fellow hikers. "This is Karen, James, and Sophia. They're the friends I was telling you about. They, of course, only speak English."

Barow stepped towards them. Mark was impressed by what he heard next. "Hello. Please sit with us." He spoke it in English.

"So you _have _been practicing! Congratulations, Barow!" He said in Tsook. Mark turned to the three displaced hikers. "I gave him a few lessons. I guess it stuck with him. Anyways, come sit. You probably won't understand anything, though."

James, Karen, and Soph did was they were told and sat along the wall to Mark's left. Mark told his Tsook friends all the events from the forest and how he was sent back. He told them of becoming a scientist to cure the epidemic that caused their world to collapse. He explained about returning to the Missile Rage with Karen and how the light appeared. Finally, he told about the trip from the forest to the village.

It was dark by the time Mark fell silent.

Megaan came up with only one question by the end: "Did you save yourself for me?"

Mark looked at her and squeezed her hand. "Forever." He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "When should we plan the wedding?"

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There's chapter four… I think I'm gonna spend a couple days on my other fic then get back to this.

~Maux


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